Staff at Polytechnic University have reacted strongly against a new staff rating system due to be implemented next month.
The Annual Development and Performance Review, applied to both academic and non-academic staff, calls for an annual appraisal exercise in which they would have their performance rated on a scale from outstanding to unsatisfactory and be awarded or sanctioned accordingly. The 1,800 staff are not appraised annually at the moment.
They are also upset that the ratings be distributed according to certain percentages. Under guidelines issued by the university, 55 per cent of staff should be rated as good, 35 per cent as fair, five per cent for either outstanding or very good and five per cent for either 'needing improvement' or unsatisfactory. 'It means the senior management now sees five per cent of its staff as useless,' said one disgruntled staff member.
Department heads have also been asked to recommend rewards equivalent to an additional month's salary for outstanding staff, and half a month for those rated 'very good', but sanctions such as deprivation of salary increment for the bottom five per cent.
The Polytechnic University Staff Association expressed strong opposition to deputy president Alexander Tzang Hing-chung at a forum attended by 120 staff on Wednesday. Vice-chairman of the association, Gillian Humphreys, said: 'There had not been any consultation with staff before. It is unimaginable that management had not expected any opposition.'
She warned the rewards system was 'terribly open to abuse' and that the ratings could destroy the spirit of collegiality within departments. 'There is no ranking of people in departments now. The new ratings would make it easier for departments to fire people when they were faced with budgetary pressure.'